This invention relates generally to communication networks and, more specifically, to mobile terminals in a network with information management services and Internet accessibility.
Known methods of providing access to the Internet include connecting to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Typically, a user selects one ISP and uses that ISP to gain access to the Internet. In order to gain access to the Internet through the ISP, the user must have a terminal capable of connecting to the ISP. Additionally, the terminal must also have the ability to retrieve information from the Internet. For example, a typical Personal Computer (PC) has a communication port with a communication device, such as a modem, which can connect to the selected ISP via landlines, telephone network and the like. Once connected, the PC has an Internet navigational tool, such a web browser, stored in the PC's memory, which the user uses to navigate through the Internet to retrieve and display, on a typical monitor, the desired information. However, the limitation of such a system is being able to provide cost effective portability and mobility. For example, a portable PC or laptop computer can be carried from one location to another, but accessing the Internet or other related services typically requires costly connection fees and charges, such as fees charged by a hotel. Additionally, when one is at a remote location a phone number and other access information must be discovered and the unit must be recovered for the new access point.
Currently, known solutions to providing a user with a more portable and mobile unit is the use of wireless units, which are terminal clients, (also referred to as terminal units), with most of its functionality stored in a remote location. A terminal client is a device having most of the functionality stored and carried out remotely. For example, a terminal client would not have its own web browsing capability. Given that the user's wireless unit is a terminal unit, it depends entirely on the system for interaction with other services, such as the Internet, and packaging of the information in a format that is compatible with the user's wireless unit. At present, a wireless or a wired unit interfaces with systems that have the ability to package and transmit information to the wireless and wired terminals. Typically, the system has global Internet accessibility and navigational capability. The system retrieves, packages, and transmits information to the wireless unit. In order to be able to receive the information, a remotely located system must package the information in such a format and size that is suitable for the wireless unit. For example, a system that is connected to the Internet can retrieve information from the Internet, package that information so that the information is compatible with and can be wirelessly transmitted to the user's wireless unit. However, the problem with this solution is that the user's wireless unit is a terminal client having limited capabilities for receiving, storing and presenting the information.
At present, there is known a thin client and network system arrangement that is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,471 entitled PROVIDING A DIRECTORY OF FREQUENTLY USED HYPERLINKS ON A REMOTE SERVER, issued to King et al. on Apr. 20, 1999, assigned to Unwired Planet, Inc. (presently known as Phone.Com, Inc. (Redwood City, Calif.). Said patent is incorporated herein by reference. In the patent, an access to hyperlink servers connected to the networks, such as the Internet, is provided via mobile public network and using mobile terminals of the system. Hypermedia links, such as Uniform Resource Locators (URL), are used to identify and control access to resources on the network and are stored on a bookmark server in the mobile network. An embodiment in which URL of bookmark server is sent to the mobile server during initialization of the device and user specific list of bookmarks are saved, retrieved and maintained in the bookmark server is simplified to certain extent.
Since the user's wireless unit is a portable unit, then there is a good chance that the user's wireless unit will enter a network that is not in communication with the system that provides the user's wireless unit with the desired data. Consequently, if the user's wireless unit is operating in the network and there is no system capable of packaging and transmitting the requested information to the wireless unit in such a way, that the limited resources of the terminal is taken into account, then the user's wireless unit is of little use.
Another problem occurs when the wireless terminal is such a device, that a client program specific information of the Internet web browser resides in a remote server and is coupled to an Internet server and global network. Such terminal client system arrangement has requirements to possibly serve one or several independent terminals concurrently. Independent terminal and its user interface and possibly activated web browser session, which is provided to each terminal user may have a different look and feel concerning the web browser, which is accomplished by having user specific browser configuration parameters.
Having non-predefined parameter configuration of browser may cause problems in providing certain service and/or vendor specific look and feel in the end user interface.
Also, additional problems may occur as a result of freely defined browser configurations. Viruses may be downloaded to the terminal and jeopardize the user's information security both during an active browser session as well as when the browser is inactive, resulting in the need to save configure parameters of browser, services, and other user specific information in server memory means.
Additionally, if optional terminal system services are used, the security of those pieces of information saved in server memory means may become a problem to maintain unaffected by viruses and the like. If any one of the terminal users, which are supported in same network server, is not using the system securely nor does not have enough knowledge of browsers and the problems that viruses and other fraudulent like uncertified or originated from unauthorized sources and other dangerous software material downloaded from the Internet may cause.
Additional problems of freely configurable browser settings are that certain browser specific software items, such as cookies, may be prevented from functioning in the terminal system. This may be problematic if the user's network service agreement contains such pricing and service arrangement in which the end user has committed to receive advertisements and/or allow service providers and/or network operators to collect statistical information from user's behavior in the network.
A further additional problem of freely configurable browser settings which may occur are that direct links to external Internet sites may be set in the browser client configuration settings. This is especially problematic when those external site configuration are changed independently of the browser client. While trying to access the linked site, the browser client may face a link error.
Problems may occur when access to Internet services are attempted and the terminal does not establish contact with system server(s) that contain(s) essential information of the configuration and services offered for the user. This results in the terminal not being able to offer the browser service for the terminal user.
Problems may also occur when the service provider or network operator has enhanced techniques to offer and user terminals are older versions as opposed to the very newest ones for which the enhanced techniques are intended. This results in not all the subscribers wanting to have the newest services will be able to get these newest services. Therefore, what is needed is a network with mobile terminals that provide information management and internet accessibility, wherein terminals may be offer web browser capabilities serving each user session independently of other similar terminals through a remotely located server. The remote server contains user specific browser parameters such as cookies, bookmarks, and browser history data and/or program sections that are session specific and are either mandatory or additional information that is used when services from the network are accessed by the terminals regardless of the geographical location of the terminal relative to the server.
Due to traffic capacity reasons in network connection, points like remote server and ISP gateway need to be arranged tolerable in the network side. The air interface access point provider may offer support to at least part of the browser information parameters providing network connection support via wireless network access point to internet service provider (ISP) and further on to global network, without remote server support. The ISP server may provide information parameter(s) for the browser session as well. It is not disabled to have a radio connection from terminal to access point of the access point provider coupled to a global internet. Therefore, all browser specific information parameters may be supported in the access point unit at the network side.
It may also be required that certain browser specific parameters have specific configuration content in order to prevent viruses from being downloaded among with other downloaded information from the Internet.
The user payload, (i.e. the actually browsed data content), is conveyed via MDA server making content filtering and content transformation possible. Another alternative is that browsed payload goes via Internet Service Provider without going through MDA server and thus not producing traffic volume to the MDA server.